Monday, January 10, 2011
STUDY: MARINE RESERVES KILL FISHERMEN
A new study has shown that some marine protected areas kill those who must fish for their livelihoods.
Five marine protected areas were established off Guam in the 1990s, eventually displacing native Chamorro fishermen. The fishermen were forced to travel farther to find legal fishing grounds. Because the new grounds were more dangerous, fishermen died.
If you're not a subscriber to Pacific Fishing's Fish Wrap, sign up now. The service is free. The process is effortless. Click on "Subscribe to get your free Fish Wrap news email" above this story, on this page.
More on Guam:www.pacificfishing.com/useful_links. (Look for "Guam Marine Reserve Drownings.")
Pacific Seafood buys B.C. plant
The assets of Port Fish have been sold to a seafood company from Oregon. But company officials were mum on how the sale will impact the plant's Port Alberni employees.
– B.C. Local News
More:www.bclocalnews.com
Expert: U.S. overfishing ended
The projected end of overfishing comes during a turbulent fishing year that's seen New England fishermen switch to a radically new management system. But scientist Steve Murawski said that for the first time in written fishing history, which goes back to 1900, "As far as we know, we've hit the right levels, which is a milestone."
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Alaska winter trollers doing well
Commercial salmon trollers in Southeast Alaska have seen a better catch this winter season. Trollers have landed 12,700 king salmon in Southeast, three months into the season.
– KRBD, Petersburg
More:krbd.org
B.C. charters want more halibut
Charter operators up and down the coast of B.C. are concerned the recreational halibut fishery could be shut down as early as mid-July, pushing away clients and costing them money.
– Muskeg News
More:www.muskegnews.com
Alaska charters want more halibut
Steve Smith's business has been cut in half, however, by National Marine Fisheries Service's new Charter Halibut Permit program for areas 2C, Southeast, and 3A, the central Gulf of Alaska including Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay, which goes into effect Feb. 1.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Cal fishermen hurt by shark-savers
Southern California fishermen are caught in the middle of shark-protection efforts even though regulators say "common threshers" — distinctive for their long, arched tails — are rebounding and well-managed along the state's coast.
– San Diego Union-Tribune
More:www.signonsandiego.com
Fish bills face Alaska lawmakers
State legislators unveiled a pack of bills they've pre-filed ahead of the Jan. 18 start of the 2011 session.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
NE fishermen howl over quota
Commercial fishing advocates and Bay State politicians assailed a federal official's decision to deny the governor's request for an emergency increase to catch limits for groundfishing vessels in the Northeast.
– Boston Globe
More:www.boston.com
To the editor: Hatchery story was wrong
Dear editor:
I really enjoy this aggregate of news related to fishing, but you've struck a nerve with the link titled "Without hatcheries, salmon disappear." That is about the most poorly written and reasoned piece on salmon ecology that I have ever read, and for you to link to it, and to actually boil down his points to no hatcheries-no salmon, is pretty disingenuous. Please take a closer look at these articles before you link to them. There are a thousand fisheries scientists whose work disagrees with this gentleman's, whose doctorate is in healing arts, not fisheries science or ecology. Linking to this piece is akin to linking to an article from one off beat scientist who denies climate change. It discredits your magazine as a legitimate news source.
Micah Wait, director of conservation, Wild Fish Conservancy
To see the article in question, go to www.pacificfishing.com. Immediately under the Fish Wrap header, you'll see "Search the Fish Wrap Archives." Click! Under 2011, click on the week of 010311. Scroll down to Friday.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
PREDICTING OCEAN CONDITIONS
Just how much an abrupt transition from El Niño to La Niña conditions in 2010 might impact future salmon runs is, for the moment, anyone's guess.
– Newport News Times
More:www.newportnewstimes.com
Fish Board eyes Kodiak king bycatch
A Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association proposal would bar commercial seine fishermen from keeping king salmon taken before July 6 in the Kodiak Management Area unless both the Karluk and Ayakulik rivers had met the minimum salmon escapement goals set by state fisheries biologists.
– Anchorage Daily News
Read more:www.adn.com
Lack of 'courage' keeps low quotas
Congressman Barney Frank described U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as a weakling without the "courage" to stand up to his own subordinates.
– Glouster (Mass.) Times
More:www.gloucestertimes.com
Pacific Seafood changes Kodiak name
Island Seafoods, a seafood market and processing facility in Kodiak, will officially take the name of its parent company, Pacific Seafood. The change is a result of Island Seafoods' efforts to align with Pacific Seafood's branding and sustainability standards.
– Pacific Seafood
More:www.pacseafood.com
Bristol Bay locals get boat help
Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. has announced the expansion of its vessel upgrade assistance program and near doubling of its maximum grant amount available to resident fishermen for this work.
– Bristol Bay Times
More:thebristolbaytimes.com
No more Sarah, at least for now
Seems like 3.2 million viewers are going to need to find a new way to watch caribou hunting. Sarah Palin's TLC reality show won't be returning for a second season.
– Time magazine
More:newsfeed.time.com
Bad weather limits snow crab fleet
The Bering Sea snow crab fishery has been stalled so far by bad weather. Most of the catch is delivered to St. Paul, where the Trident Seafood plant was awaiting supplies to get going. A Northland barge has been stuck in Dutch Harbor due to weather, delaying operations.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Examining future of kings on Klamath
A panel of experts that will advise the U.S. Interior secretary on the potential removal of four dams on the Klamath River gathered Monday in Eureka to investigate how the massive project might benefit Chinook salmon, the backbone of tribal, sport and commercial fisheries.
– Pacific Fishing columnist John Driscoll, writing in the Eureka Times Standard
More:www.times-standard.com
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
CG ALASKA RANGER REPORT TODAY
The U.S. Coast Guard will hold a media briefing to release the Report of Investigation, into the sinking of the fish processing vessel Alaskan Ranger today. The Alaska Ranger was 130 miles west of Dutch Harbor when it sank nearly three years ago. Five men died.
– Coast Guard
Reality TV looking for fishermen's wives
Shed Media US, a Los Angeles television production company, is looking to cast a new reality series called "Alaska Fishermen's Wives." Casting producer Annette Ivy tells me she's looking to contact women who are "outgoing and have big personalities."
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Search for Icicle worker overboard
An overnight search for a worker who fell overboard from a fish-processing ship south of Prince Rupert failed to find the man.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Fish commish meets with foes
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell met with Native leaders last week to discuss her position on various issues, and to attempt to ease concerns about her age and experience which were raised when she was appointed last month.
– Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Seal hunt foes to boycott Canadian seafood
A boycott of Canadian seafood sends the message to the industry, and their government supporters, that consumers and suppliers refuse to support the cruelty of the seal hunt.
– Change.org
More:animals.change.org
Adak seeks relief from Steller measures
The city of Adak is requesting the state to issue an emergency order that will allow boats to fish for Pacific cod in the far western Aleutians in spite of a new federal regulation put into place to protect the endangered western Steller sea lions.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
NOAA extends Steller comment period
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is extending the comment period for the interim final rule to reduce commercial fishing for groundfish stocks in the Aleutian Islands.
– NOAA
More:www.juneauempire.com
B.C. halibut charters predict havoc
Halibut sport fishermen and charter operators on southern Vancouver Island are predicting economic havoc if the Department of Fisheries and Oceans closes this year's fishery in July instead of letting it run until December.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Atlantic halibut seeks MSC certification
The largest Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) fishery in eastern Canadian waters entered full assessment in the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) certification program for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
– MSC
More:www.msc.org
Panel to examine Klamath salmon behavior
The panel will determine how salmon would respond to dam removal and a program to restore habitat and shore up water supplies to farms in the Upper Klamath Basin, or how Chinook would respond if the dams remain in place.
– Pacific Fishing columnist John Driscoll, writing in the Eureka Times Standard
More:www.contracostatimes.com
Thursday, January 13, 2011
OWNER RESPONSIBLE FOR DEADLY SINKING
The sinking of the Seattle-based Alaska Ranger, a 2008 maritime disaster that claimed the lives of five of 47 crew members, likely resulted from the failure of an aging hull that hadn't been properly maintained, according to a Coast Guard report released Wednesday.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
More:www.adn.com
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
– Wesley Loy, Deck Boss
Family sues over longliner death
A worker who died on Sept. 7 aboard the F/V Siberian Sea did not die of natural causes, according to a lawsuit filed by the family of the deceased, Russell "Rusty" Jennings, 39, of Michigan, in King County Superior Court.
– Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More:www.thedutchharborfisherman.com
New Obama official has fisheries past
William Daley, named by Obama, has a history of working with the fishing industry and with lawmakers.
– Portland (Maine) Press Herald
More:www.pressherald.com
Governments oppose salmon farm suit
The federal and provincial governments have filed appeals against a B.C. Supreme Court ruling in an attempt to scuttle a class-action lawsuit over sea lice on salmon farms filed by a First Nation.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Enviros: Don't restock salmon farm
Putting half a million farm fish in the direct path of migrating sockeye salmon is a reckless move that could threaten the survival of some wild runs, environmental groups say.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Another B.C. halibut charter doomsayer
Devastation and the collapse of the halibut sports fishing industry is imminent if federal measures are not taken to accommodate recreational fishers, says Mike Hicks, lodge operator, fishing guide and area director for the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area.
– Sooke (B.C.) News Mirror
More:www.bclocalnews.com
Restaurants should do fish homework
In a public letter, the Chefs Collaborative has agreed with Legal Sea Foods President Roger Berkowitz that restaurateurs should do their own research rather than let so-called "eco-labelers" dictate what seafood to serve and what to shun.
– Gloucester Times
More:www.gloucestertimes.com
B'ham and new harbor on St. Paul
Bellingham Marine worked with general contractor Dutra Dredging and the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association to provide a small boat harbor for the local fishing fleet at St. Paul Island.
– Bellingham Herald
More:www.bellinghamherald.com
Keeping tabs on Cassandra
Pacific Fishing columnist and Daily Astorian reporter Cassandra Marie Profita has found a new gig: Reporting and writing about the environment in the Pacific Northwest for Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Nationally, she is one of 12 bloggers in a new network sponsored by National Public Radio and local public broadcasters.
Although occasionally reporting for broadcast, Cassandra focuses primarily on discovering environmental trends and writing about them for her blog:Ecotrope.
In addition, she continues to do special projects for Pacific Fishing. She wrote and edited the magazine's special section about Marine Stewardship Council certification of the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery. It'll be in the February issue.
You can follow Ecotrope online atecotrope.opb.org
Friday, January 14, 2011
ALASKA'S SOCKEYE FORECASTS
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued the 2011 sockeye salmon forecast for Upper Cook Inlet, and the numbers look strong.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Cucumber diver dies in SE Alaska
Coast Guard investigators from Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan are working with the Annette Island Department of Fish and Game and the Metlakatla Police Department in the investigation of a commercial diving death that occurred on the 68-foot fishing tender Island Dancer near Annette Island Wednesday.
– Coast Guard
More:www.d17.uscgnews.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, the Alaska Board of Fish is meeting in Kodiak right now, but they've got even more work to do next week in Anchorage. Cora Campbell has won over some critics, and EVOS lawyers are looking for Alaska's lost fishermen.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Glitch halts trawl ratz fishing
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries' three-day-old management system for the West Coast Groundfish fishery came grinding to a halt when a computer "glitch" froze elements of the computer system that allow fishermen to track their individual allotments.
– Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian.com
Bycatch discard rule 'madness'
There is a lot of talk in the air, just now, about the madness of the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy, and how its strict quota system forces British trawlermen to throw vast quantities of fish back into the sea, dead.
– The Economist
More:www.economist.com
Research: Virus killing B.C. sockeye
Scientists working with wild sockeye salmon struggling to cope with warming temperatures in British Columbia's Fraser River have identified broad genetic signatures that can predict which fish will live or die before spawning a new generation.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Sea lions decimate Columbia sturgeon
"The sea lions seldom feed on their prey, but often seem to kill out of boredom and leave the sturgeon once movement ceases.''
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Freezer-longliners file sea lion lawsuit
The Freezer Longline Coalition filed suit on behalf of its members against the National Marine Fisheries Service and entered the Steller Sea Lion litigation opposing NMFS's interim final rule and final Biological Opinion.
– Freezer Longline Coalition
More:alaskalonglinecod.com
Building B.C. contained salmon farm
After years of design, government approval, funding efforts and redesign, sections of the gargantuan fibreglass tank were assembled on site in the last two weeks.
– Courier-Islander, British Columbia
More:www.canada.com
